


The River

by Rosewood_Writes



Series: Faded [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 10:59:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosewood_Writes/pseuds/Rosewood_Writes
Summary: It's the morning after the fight. Ethira wakes up alone. After gathering her wits, she sets off to find the others again. But her journey quickly takes a perilous turn for the worse when she takes a swim in the river.





	The River

Returning to consciousness was a far from pleasant experience. The first thing to hit her was the cold-deep and aching in her bones. The second was the stiffness throughout her whole body. She could barely move. Lastly came the pain. And that was the worst. Her side throbbed horribly with each slow beat of her heart. Any and all confusion vanished as flashes of yesterday's events flooded her mind-the red templars, the explosion, fleeing for her life.  
Part of her felt stupid for having run off like that; she should have stayed close, so her soldiers would find her. Now, she didn’t know how far away from camp she was. She was as good as lost. Her only hope now was to try and back track as best she could, try to find the battlefield again.   
Slowly, Ethira pushed herself up to a sitting position, breathing deeply through her nose as her side voiced its opposition. Slowly, she unwrapped the makeshift bandages and glanced down at her side. The bleeding had stopped for the most part, but she'd have to be careful not to strain herself. There was no sign that infection had set in. Yet.   
With effort, she hauled herself to a standing position and turned her attention to the ice blocking her exit. She reached for her water skin and drank what was left before melting the ice to refill it. A shiver ran down her spine as she stepped into the brisk morning air.   
She took in her surroundings, trying to see any possible landmarks that would point her in the right direction. But, all she saw were trees and flatlands. Taking a deep breath, she began the slow climb to even higher ground. She needed to find her way back, quickly. If it meant a bit of discomfort, so be it. All she wanted was to be out of this damned forest.   
Her slow climb yielded little reward. She could see down into the forested valley well enough, but it was nothing but a sea of trees, the same landscape repeating for miles. There was no sign of any clearing, at least, not that she could see from her vantage point. There was a river to the east, snaking its way south.   
A river. They’d set up camp near a river.   
With no other viable options, she set off in that direction, raising a pillar of ice before she left, just in case she had to find safety again come nightfall. There was no telling what her efforts would bring her.   
Despite the calm of the forest at dawn, she couldn't help but jump at the slightest sound. The wolf attack was still fresh on her mind, and the bruised bite on her ankle was a painful, purple reminder that she needed to find the others as soon as possible. No wolves would sneak up on her now, not in the daylight where she could see them, but she was still cautious nonetheless. There were other dangers to worry about.  
There was a startling lack of ground vegetation the further down the slope she got. The wound in her side needed healing, or at least a proper cleaning and better bandages. She kept an eye out for any plants she could use quickly for a temporary patch, but there was nothing but thick pines and firs. Nothing seemed to grow through the thick layer of dried needles at her feet. 

 

Picking her way down the rocky slope was slow, strenuous work. Despite nearing winter, it was getting to be insufferably hot the longer she walked. Ethira took sparse drinks from her water skin. The little trickles of water she allowed herself were a tease as her throat grew parched and her lips began to chap. Her only hope was the emergence of ground cover- dry and coarse, scraggly weeds, but sign enough that she was nearing some sort of water source. The terrain began to flatten out. Sparse foliage turned to bushes and ferns. A faint roar rumbled in the distance. Ethira picked up her pace; was that running water?  
Sweat was beading down her face by the time the riverbank came into view. She staggered to the water’s edge, sighing in relief as she sank knees-first into the cool water. She slowly lowered her torso into the water, wincing slightly as the water rushed over her wounds, tinging the water red.   
For several minutes she let herself soak before she hauled herself back to the shore, removing her mail leggings and boots. She slowly took off her tattered tunic and set them on one of the rocks to dry before wading waist deep into the current. A string of relieved sighs escaped her as she washed the sweat, blood and grime from her skin. Creators, did it feel good to be clean!  
After basking in the sun for a while, Ethira donned her armor and boots once more and began the trek down stream. The camp had to be downstream somewhere. That much she was sure of. Hopefully, she’d be safe and on her way home by tomorrow evening.  
As she went, she scoured the riverbank for elfroot, hoping to at least be able to make a paste for her side. An infection would only slow her down. But as she walked along the riverbed, the lush vegetation began to disappear as the banks turned to stone. Aside from grasses and brush, there was no sign of anything that might help her.  
She sighed in dismay at the sounds of rapids in the distance. She had been forced to slosh through the shallows the last couple of miles. Towering stone cliffs boxed her in on either side, with no way up their sheer, smooth surfaces. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of having to float downstream. The keeper had warned her of the dangers of being at the mercy of the current.   
But, without any other options, she continued onward towards the dull roar of the rapids. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Ethira left the shallows and started to swim. Thankfully, the river was clear and lazy at this portion. The weightlessness helped alleviate the pain in her side as she slowly floated along.   
The current began to pick up after a time. Ethira could feel it pushing her along now, gaining speed rapidly. Ripples and waves broke the still surface of the water and the sound of the rapids was growing louder. Despite herself, she began to panic as the current continued to build.   
Soon, she was in the thick of the rapids. White water sprayed around her as it raced through the rocks. At the mercy of the current, she was battered against them. She grunted with every jarring impact. The granite was like sandpaper against her skin, scraping through her shirt and tearing it to shreds. The roar of the water was all she could hear as it pulled her along.   
There was little in the way of reprieve as she was swept away by the current. Occasionally, it would pin her against the rocks, allowing her a few precious moments to cough and sputter, but never long enough to catch her breath for more than a few seconds.   
The longer it dragged on, the more she began to fear she would drown, or be pummeled to death against the rocks. Her fingertips became raw and bloody from desperate attempts to cling to the rocks. Her thoughts fell back to Solas and the others. Was she really about to die where they’d never find her? Why had she been such a fool?  
Just as she was beginning to accept that she would surely drown, the cliffs to her left fell away, revealing a long strip of rocky beach just a foot above the surface of the water. Desperate to free herself, she struggled against the current to reach the shore. She was so close, no amount of pain or exhaustion could stop her.   
Her heart skipped a beat as she felt solid rock under her feet. She reached out for the nearest stone, painting the rocks red as her hands slid off the rocks. Her footing gave way beneath her, plunging her under water. She coughed as she surfaced, her nostrils burning from the water she’d inhaled.   
It wasn’t long before the current sucked her under again. She kicked and flailed, feeling her fingers break the surface. But the current held her under with an icy iron grip. Her lungs began to burn as she struggled, unable to free herself. This was it. She was going to drown here, lost forever in the forest.   
Stars began to dance before her eyes. Her mind became cloudy. She could feel water entering her lungs, but she was too weak to fight it anymore. Blood clouded the water, staining it scarlet.   
And suddenly, she was rising, slowly but surely, to the surface. The sensation gave her new life. She kicked and thrashed with renewed vigor, almost crying as she breached the surface. Two arms pulled her up and over the ledge to the shore. As she touched solid ground, she coughed, expelling the water from her lungs. She collapsed against the warm rocks, coughing and dry heaving as life slowly flowed back into her.   
“You are one of the luckiest idiots I’ve ever met, Boss.”   
Ethira coughed in acknowledgement. For several minutes she just laid on the rocks, relishing the heat on her skin and the air in her lungs. She opened a single eye and blinked once as she spotted Iron Bull sitting over her, a look between anger and relief on his face before she blacked out.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for hanging in there for the latest update, guys! I'm glad so many of you have liked the story thus far. With hours beginning to return to normal, I should be back on a more regular posting schedule soon!


End file.
